Universal plunged by the daily maximum 21 percent, the
biggest drop since its listing in September 1998, to 1,516 yen
at the close of trading in Tokyo, after being untraded most of
the day as sell orders outnumbered buyers. The pachinko machine
maker vowed legal action to protect the value of its stake and
called Wynn Resorts’ move “outrageous” in an e-mailed
statement today.

Wynn Resorts redeemed the 24 million shares held by Aruze
USA Inc., a pachinko company controlled by Universal, and issued
a 10-year $1.9 billion promissory note for the stock, according
to a statement from the Las Vegas-based casino operator
yesterday. The Wynn Resorts stake would be worth about $2.77
billion at the Feb. 17 closing price of $112.69 in New York,
about 31 percent more than Wynn paid in the redemption.

“The decision by the Wynn board, which followed a rushed
investigation that lacks absolute findings, to redeem Universal
Entertainment’s nearly 20 percent holdings in Wynn Resorts based
on its project in the Philippines is outrageous,” Universal
said in the statement. “We have not even been provided with the
opportunity to review” the report by Wynn’s investigation
committee, the company said.

Hong Kong-listed unit Wynn Macau Ltd. climbed as much as
5.9 percent to HK$21.50, the biggest intraday increase in almost
a month, before trading at HK$20.80 as of 2:51 p.m. local time.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has asked Cristino
Naguiat, chairman of Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp., for
information about Okada, Edwin Lacierda, the president’s
spokesman said at a press briefing today. Naguiat will issue a
statement today, Lacierda said.

Wynn Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen
Wynn and Okada, who helped bankroll the company starting 12
years ago, have clashed over a donation the U.S. operator made
to the University of Macau and Universal’s plan to build a
casino resort in the Philippines.

Okada was stripped of his vice-chairman role last year
after alleging improprieties in the university donation that’s
the subject of a lawsuit and a U.S. regulatory inquiry.

Okada violated U.S. anti-corruption laws and made cash
payments and gifts of about $110,000 to gambling regulators in
the Philippines, Wynn Resorts said in the statement, citing an
investigation it conducted with former Nevada Governor Robert
Miller and Louis Freeh, the ex-director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.

Pachinko, a type of slot machine, generates about 20
trillion yen ($251 billion) in annual revenue in Japan as a form
of gambling, according to a 2011 white paper from the Japan
Productivity Center, a non-governmental organization.